The President of the Midwives Association of New Brunswick calls a funding cut by the provincial government a shameful loss.

Citing financial constraints, the government is suspending the work of the council in implementing policies and standards necessary for the implemention of midwifery services.

Association President Nathalie Pambrun tells CHSJ News cutting funding is short-sighted and makes no sense at this time.

She says they have some good momentum with the work the council has already done and she finds it very unfortunate that it should close for such a small amount of money.

Pambrun says they are disappointed by the government's decision adding people have been waiting for access to these services since the government announced the implementation of the Midwifery Act in 2010.

Over 66,000 people applied to get just over 4,600 licenses in the province. That's a thousand more than were available 3 years ago. The increase is meant to control the moose population where the animals have become a problem.

Moose season starts in September, and if you got a license you should receive a letter. Hunters who entered the draw may find out if they were successful
either by calling 1-800-459-3729 on a touchtone telephone or by checking
online at the Department of Natural Resources website.

You'll need your Medicare number to confirm your identity.
To buy the actual license, bring your card to
a Service New Brunswick centre on or after August 19.

It's going to take a lot of twine, yarn, floss and patience to break this world record.

Girl Guides from New Brunswick and P.E.I. are in the process of making 8000 friendship bracelets, in an effort to beat the current Guinness World Record for longest chain of friendship bracelets. The current record, created on May 1st, stands at 7,507.

Deb Maber of Girl Guides Canada tells CHSJ News the group of 600 has been making the bracelets over for the last few months, and they'll continue to make them until a summer camp near Sussex on August 11-17. On the last day, everyone in the camp will make a large circle and they'll join all the bracelets together to form one giant loop. The loop will be counted and measured, then the documentation will be sent off to Guinness.

Earlier this year, the Girl Guide World Centre in India put out a call for the bracelets, which they sell in shops to fund programs. Maber says that sparked the idea to attempt breaking a world record as a way to get people excited about making them.

The latest unemployment figures for the province are depressing and provincial Liberal Leader Brian Gallant claims the economic indicators don't look all that great over the next year.

He accuses the Alward Government of taking the lazy way out when it comes to across the board cuts in spending which Gallant tells CHSJ News ought to have been more strategic. He says the Liberals would invest more in education, starting with preschool and make post secondary more accessible, the goal being to turn New Brunswick into the innovation province.

Provincial Health Minister Ted Flemming says the Alward Government had to dig the province out of a huge financial hole created by the Liberals under then Premier Shawn Graham and that can't be done overnight or even in four years.

Flemming maintains the potential of natural gas in the province is incredible and then there's the west to east oil pipeline which is looking more and more likely so he's optimistic about how the future will play out.Flemming goes on to say potential investors want to be assured the province is managed well and not virtually bankrupt.

After posting an online survey to see how people in the Kennebecasis Valley feel about the proliferation of deer, the information gathered will be passed on to the Natural Resources Department.

Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop tells CHSJ News it will be up to Natural Resources to come up with a plan, if any, and concedes the options are limited but there's no doubt people are being adversely affected and want something done. The big question is what that might be.

Bishop says he's amazed at how many car accidents are happening because of the deer roaming all over the place and there is also a concern about Lyme Disease from ticks found on deer, the effects of which can be debilitating.Bishop says one suggestion was to tranquilize the deer and transfer them to other places where there's a scarcity but that is no only expensive, the death rate among the deer who are taken away to another location is high.A few years ago, Natural Resources made the suggestion of bringing in archers for a cull which has been done in other jurisdictions with some success.

The Provincial NDP leader says people are willing to pay more taxes if they feel they are getting enough service for their money.Dominic Cardy says tax hikes that kicked in on July 1st will impact take home pay.He tells CHSJ News we need to have a serious conversation about what public services we want and how much we are willing to pay for them.

He says an NDP goverment will be open about the cost of the world's best services.

Cardy says he's not sure if provincial taxes are too high or too low but he does know they are not going in the right direction.